Rory has been the only person so far to wonder what the link to SLOWHOUSE on the front page of Infinite Monkeys is, and now he (and you) can find out. Not by clicking on it, of course, that would be ridiculous, no by my telling you here. slowHouse is the name under which I have begun recording music using my now extensive and underused home studio. (If you can think of a better name, I'd be interested to hear it, unless it's 'The Rubbish' or 'You're Shit'.) The first track (and the first proper song I've recorded - you know, with vocals, chorus, verses, that kind of nonsense) to be released on this site is called 'Safe Inside Your House' (just click on the link - you'll need a streaming MP3 player such as iTunes to listen to it). Incidentally, I cannot play piano, violin or cello. And I can barely sing or write lyrics and melody. Be warned. Be gentle.

UPDATE: Because some people have mentioned that they don't have software for playing streamed MP3s, you can download it instead.

James says:
This song began as an instrumental in a much higher key and about twice the tempo, but when I exported it from Cubase at too high a sampling rate, iTunes unexpectedly played it much slower and lower and it seemed a lot better. And, if you're interested, here's the original (download).
posted by James on 11 April, 2003
 

Reid says:
It's beautiful. Very very impressive, well done!
posted by Reid on 11 April, 2003
 

Rory says:
Aha, my suspicions confirmed. So you weren't tempted to go with 'Sea Goat'? ;) Just had a listen - you multi-talented devil, you.
posted by Rory on 12 April, 2003
 

Ashley Frieze says:
Before I say anything, I should point out that I'm a complete hyprocrite... I cannot play or sing particularly well, and I've spent the last few months proving both of those and the fact that I can't write either... However, here are some comments about your song; I'm trying to be constructive. You rhyme walking with talking... (a little too easy a rhyme for me) Your line about wondering where it ends and squandering your friends: it's a better rhyme, but I didn't think the meaning came first. At the beginning of the piece, it's hard to catch the tempo - almost as though it's not quite in time - was it done to a click? The ending is rather abrupt. Piano's ding-dong to stop the flow was a little glaringly obvious. And now some praise. The sound is lovely and rounded. With a very simple combination of instruments, you get a lovely warm tone. I particularly like the sound of the high notes on the piano - almost like rain falling outside the house which the person is "safe inside". There's depth to the arrangement as well - though it seems uniform at first glance, the variations are well thought out. So, good stuff and very brave of you to put it online. It's much better sounding than anything I've produced, so I'm immediately in awe of you.
posted by Ashley Frieze on 12 April, 2003
 

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